I'm Elaine, I'm a UK Pole Dance Instructor, teaching pole dancing in Surrey since 2005, and this is my Blog, where I put video-clips, pictures and articles as a resource for pole students (and sometimes just to let off steam, hehe). I try to post regularly, and would love to read any feedback so do post a comment.. Or add your email to get new posts. Enjoy :-)

Pole Dancing Pictures and Video Index

Sunday, 31 August 2008

It's been a while ...

... I'm terrible for updating this Blog, maybe that's because I have a life hehe.

Anyhow, here's a bit of an update on what's been happening, more later!

By popular demand, my newest pair of shoes (I'm bored with the typical pvc 'stripper' shoes at the moment). These are from ebay, bargain of the moment, eh! Being pink satin, they don't allow great grip for climbing etc, but they're still good for pole-ing. I've been wearing them in for a week or so and now they're quite comfortable. They come in US sizes, so allow around 2.5 above your usual UK size if you're thinking of getting some. Tomorrow night, they will be put through their pole/burlesque/charleston paces ("Life is a Cabaret, Old Chum ...Come to the Cabaret!")

I thought I'd write up my experience of my first pole class that I ever attended!

This was back in the day (2002) when pole classes were unheard of. There were, if I remember, two pole dancing classes on offer in Central London.

I went to what was probably one of the 1st Polestars classes, and of course Polestars have come a long way since. Back then, however, their class was held in a back room in a pub on Brixton Hill (The Telegraph). I remember being extremely nervous, and ensured I had a large glass of wine before venturing behind that curtain that closed off the pole dancing area from the rest of the pub.

There were about 25 girls in the class, and 2 poles. Our pole teacher turned up, flustered as someone had nicked her bag containing her old faithful white PVC boots on the Tube. Still, she cut a pole dash in her denim cut offs, plunging into the splits from the top of the pole, and engaging a female audience with her cheeky stage presence. This was Sam Kirli, who now runs Shake 'N' Swing in North London.

We started off with 20 mins or so of gruelling exercise, designed to build up our muscles for pole stuff. Always being a muscley sort of person, for some reason, I found this easy. But changing into hot pants and heels afterwards (I owned neither) was terrifying.

My 'hot' pants were cast offs from some years before and I was conscious of pimply shaving rash thighs as I took my turn in the spotlight. Also, I just could not click as to which hand was to go where on the pole (looking back I realise we were being taught the 'Inside Hook Spin', but heck it was all double Dutch to me).

The bit where we had to walk up to the mirror at the back of the room and 'wiggle provocatively' in front of it was excruciating, but in a weird way, challenging, and helped no end by the glass of wine.

As mentioned, there were 20+ of us, and 2 poles, so there was a lot of waiting around, so not much was learnt, but heck when I walked out of that class later, I felt on top of the world. I'd gone online to find Fencing, instead I'd found pole dancing; and the rest as they say is history.

I think pole dancing takes you waaaay out of your comfort zone, but, then, when your skill level builds, this makes for such a massive feeling of accomplishment, that it's one of the major attractions of pole dancing, I'm sure.

Also in that class, in the early days, was Raquel, who later went on to found Pole Addicts. Polestars have since gone he-uge, and I'm sure no longer have 12+ people per pole. I since went on to begin Poleminx, in 2005, and these days I would say pole dancing is reaching the stage where it's nearly but not quite mainstream, with even gyms jumping on board left right and centre. I have to say though that oddly, what attracted me to it was it's kind of taboo nature, and to this day, no matter what the health benefits, it's the fact you can wear your heels, have a laugh, a drink, and literally let your hair down while you learn a kick-ass skill, that seems to be the main attraction. Long live pole dancing!

The Cradle Spin This Level 2 pole dancing spin is like Marmite - people either love it or hate it. Different to many other spins, it requi...

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